Lee Massachusetts

Federal Prosecutors Want To Use Past Against Former Police Chief During Sentencing

Former Lee Police Chief Joseph Buffis Was Convicted Last Year Of Extortion

Federal prosecutors want the judge sentencing former Lee, Massachusetts, police chief Joseph Buffis to take into account all the allegations against him, including some not even presented at trial. Buffis was convicted last year of one count of extortion, and acquitted on ten other charges.

In a court filing, prosecutors call Buffis “a long time thief and a brazen liar.” They say Buffis raided a toy fund and a Lee Police Association account. And they say he schemed to have the town pay for his family’s cell phones. They also plan to introduce evidence that Buffis embezzled more than $30,000 from a church bingo account.

They say all this should be considered by the court in Buffis’s sentencing, which is scheduled for March 3rd.

Lori Levinson, an attorney for Buffis, says she will seek to block the government’s request to use “acquitted and uncharged conduct” during the sentencing.

Three Southern Berkshire Communities To Explore Sharing Resources

Three Berkshire County towns, Lee, Lenox and Stockbridge, are looking into how they can share municipal services, with the hopes of saving money or holding the line on tax increases.

As the populations of Lee, Lenox and Stockbridge have declined, remaining residents have been dealing with rising property taxes to help cover municipal budgets. Patricia Carlino chairs the Lee Select Board. She says a joint committee will look at all proposals, which might include sharing building inspectors to actual highway equipment, which could either save money, or keep costs level.

“We all have to do the same work,” Carlino says. “We all have to provide the same services to our taxpayers. They’re the ones footing the bill and as their bills get higher and higher, they’re looking at us to curb costs. This is one way that we might be able to do it.”

This isn’t entirely new for these towns. They’ve shared a health department for almost 90 years.

Lee Looking To Become First In Mass. With Local Gas Tax

The town of Lee, Massachusetts, is looking to become the first in the state to charge a local gasoline tax. And other communities could follow suit if the legislature goes along with the idea.

Lee’s town meeting signed off on the tax this spring as a way to raise additional funds for road work and other infrastructure projects. It still needs legislative approval, but the tax would go above and beyond the 24-cents-a-gallon already charged on gas across Massachusetts. State Representative Smitty Pignatelli is sponsoring the legislation.

“Two or three pennies on the gallon that will stay in that particular community: As a taxpayer, nobody likes to pay their taxes, ” Pignatelli says. “But when I know how my tax dollars are being spent, when I know that money is going to stay in my community, I feel a little bit differently about it.”

Pignatelli is also filing a bill to allow other Massachusetts communities to enact a similar tax.